D&D 5E Inkarnate - Web Based Fantasy Map Generator

[Valador]

Sorry if this doesn't belong in this exact forum, but my cell signal is horrible right now and I can't browse well enough through the forums to find a better place for it.

I saw a post today on Facebook for this site and thought it was pretty nifty and worth sharing.

http://inkarnate.com/
(Website in beta, must sign up to use the features.)

https://www.facebook.com/InKarnateRPG?fref=ts
(Provides more info. and photos of the program.)

 

[Jester David]

Meh.
Site not designed for mobile browsing. No videos if the tool at work. No pics of the UI. No FAQ.

 

[Valador]

Meh.
Site not designed for mobile browsing. No videos if the tool at work. No pics of the UI. No FAQ.

Silver platter not included.

Apparently the beta just started rolling out a few days ago. Anyways, I found it amusing as a free web based tool. Not really worried about trying to make maps on a mobile device... because how the do I expect to create a detailed map on a phone... Anyways.

 

[Jester David]

Silver platter not included.

Apparently the beta just started rolling out a few days ago. Anyways, I found it amusing as a free web based tool. Not really worried about trying to make maps on a mobile device... because how the do I expect to create a detailed map on a phone... Anyways.

I checked out the site on my iPad, which would be a good size/device to support as drawing on a similar device is easy and can give you a lot more control than a mouse.

It may be a beta, but there's precious little on the site that sells it.
No look at what or how the tools work. No map in various stages of completion of example of the tools at use (other than adding mountains/cities). Just a couple maps of a very familiar locale that could have been made by the tool or yanked from a google search and altered slightly. And you can't even click on the pictures for a larger view. No price or if this will be single time purchase, free with DLC expansions, or subscription based.
Heck, there's not even a legal rider at the bottom or mention of the company building it. It's a nice looking site but super sparse.

There's too much I don't know to feel comfortable giving that site a non-burnable e-mail.

-edit-
looking closer, it's odd not to see any "contact" button, or place to report bugs. Which is kinda the whole point of a beta.

 

[Patrick McGill]

I actually got to test that program. It's really very good, though somewhat limiting with the tools provided in the alpha/beta(?). I believe you can still sign up to test it. I recently went back and logged in and my maps were still there. Let me see if I can link to the map I made.




The one I made is a simple map, but the example map they have saved is a pretty detailed recreation of Westeros.

 

[Sword of Spirit]

I actually got to test that program. It's really very good, though somewhat limiting with the tools provided in the alpha/beta(?). I believe you can still sign up to test it. I recently went back and logged in and my maps were still there. Let me see if I can link to the map I made.

The one I made is a simple map, but the example map they have saved is a pretty detailed recreation of Westeros.

The most important question: How long did it take you to make that map?

The software I'm currently planning on using is Hexographer, because I'm much more concerned about functionality than prettiness in my maps. I want to sit down with a very basic idea and rough mental image of the area and plop out a map using the DMG guidelines in under an hour. I just have too many other things to do to have to use different brush tools and finely detail something. Automation is great for me. If I can plop down coastlines and mountains, and a few key features and settlements, and then just tell it to "fill in" the blanks, and it does so in an acceptable manner, that is golden.

 

[Patrick McGill]

The most important question: How long did it take you to make that map?

The software I'm currently planning on using is Hexographer, because I'm much more concerned about functionality than prettiness in my maps. I want to sit down with a very basic idea and rough mental image of the area and plop out a map using the DMG guidelines in under an hour. I just have too many other things to do to have to use different brush tools and finely detail something. Automation is great for me. If I can plop down coastlines and mountains, and a few key features and settlements, and then just tell it to "fill in" the blanks, and it does so in an acceptable manner, that is golden.

Not long at all. You start by throwing down globs of land with a paint tool, then refining that. You can paint on features like mountains, and put down cities.

As far as automation goes, however, there isn't any. It's all by hand. But, I think I did that map in literally half an hour or less.

I wish it had more features to paint, however. Like actual forests instead of dark green.

 

[Inchoroi]

I use Photoshop for my maps; found an awesome tutorial on another forum for it.

 

[Wrathamon]

The best part is the autosorting of the mountains, trees and other items, along with the text and overall general look and feel ... but you need to be somewhat of an artist to make it look really good. The blending between ground textures could be better and it didnt have a zoom, so it was hard to make detailed landmass borders ... defining your landmass.

it has potential

 

[Dragonsbane]

Pretty damn good. Make it so I can resize objects like towns and farm crop icons, and we need a way to import a previous map and draw on top of it, and I might pay some money for it.